A Box Full of Memories
by Phoenixrin
Summary: Because they all had a box full of - no, they had a whole lifetime of memories. And they had found each other, gravitating towards Luffy like planets gravitate towards a Sun, like that in a solar system. A sequel to Hello, This is the Shitty Restaurant. Ch 7 up.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long. And this turned out to be longer that I expected so... Nothin actually.

Enjoy!

It's been a few days now. It's not even two weeks since he met his captain again but somehow this is enough to cover up for the eternity they all spent alone.

The others joined in soon enough. Chopper, Robin- chuan, Franky and Brook. It seemed that everyone remembered everything. And it was the same case for everyone. They were all going about their own normal life with that gaping hole somewhere in their heart that they had grown accustomed to - when they somehow bumped into Luffy and it all came rushing back. This time, in this life, no one had the slightest reason or will to believe that this was coincidence or fate or destiny or some shit like that. They were living proof that there are some things that are indestructible - like the bonds they share with each other and especially _him_ \- some things that cannot be torn apart by something as trivial as death.

They have all practically shifted into Nami's apartment, and boy, were they surprised. Even Sanji couldn't suppress his astonishment. Because Nami's apartment was absolutely beautiful and dainty and _perfect_ , with orange and blues and reds and whites and blacks and it was strange that someone who was so obsessed over money could spend so much on decor.

But it all made sense as well, because each corner reminded them of a strong ship with the ability of sailing a thousand seas and an ocean equally strong and unpredictable.

They all have similar occupations. Marimo is a teacher in a kendo school that is second to none, Nami-suan is a cartographer with skills that are undeniably the best and Ussop is a sharpshooter with skills unmatched at international levels. Sanji himself is the best cook in the country. He might as well be the best in the world, for all he knows, and a few weeks ago that might have attracted him.

Chopper is a world renowned medic and Robin-chuan is unbeatable when it comes to archeology. Franky is still in a league of his own when it comes to architecture and Brook can still move the most stoic of men to tears with his music.

They are all the best at what they do and a while ago, this might have boosted the ego of some of them. Not now. Because now they follow Luffy and they know he deserves the best. They now follow a man who shines brighter than any of them could hope to.

Sanji is preparing the ingredients for the grand party they were going to hold tonight (to celebrate Ussop's new invention- no wait, it was because Chopper came up with a new cure. Screw that. They already had a big enough reason to celebrate. It started with an 'L') when Luffy barges in demanding a snack.

Sanji takes a long drag from his cigarette, and with swift long strides walks over to where Luffy is perched on the table, swinging his legs back and forth.

Moments later Luffy is sent hurtling out of the kitchen with a shout of 'You just had lunch a few hours ago, shithead!'

Luffy just stays the way he ended up, upside down, pouting and then pokes his tongue towards Sanji. It still takes a lot to make Luffy bruise and bleed, even Sanji's kick doesn't affect him. Sanji doesn't know if he should feel proud or annoyed at that.

Sanji walks back into the kitchen. Falling back into his work, he doesn't notice the pleading look that Luffy sends towards Zoro and then Usopp. Zoro promptly returns back to the sleep which had been disturbed by Sanji's yell. Luffy musters up his best puppy eyes look and Usopp groans because he knows that Luffy knows that none of them can refuse this kid when he pulls that look.

Including the always-ready-to-help-Luffy-with-his-mischief Robin, the three of them formulated a plan. Well Robin did most of the formulating, Usopp was too busy visualising how pissed the blonde was going to be and Luffy was bouncing at the prospect of food.

Minutes later, when Sanji noodled his way to Nami with a glass of lemonade, the two figures that slinked towards the kitchen didn't go unnoticed by him. He wasn't bothered by that, he had a whole lifetime of experience of Luffy-proofing the kitchen. What he hadn't accounted was the participation of a certain dark haired woman who was currently on the couch, reading a book with a smile that always suggested she knew more than she let on.

When Sanji returned to the kitchen, he was surprised to find Luffy and Usopp stuffing their faces with food from the now unlocked refrigerator. With practised ease, Luffy and Usopp scrambled out of the kitchen just in time to dodge severals knives that were thrown in their direction.

Sanji ran after them and failed to notice something that Nami-suan, kind and dazzling Nami-suan pointed out for him.

"Sanji-kun, you are grinning."

And it was true, plain as day.

Because they all had a box full of - no, they had a whole _lifetime_ of memories. And they had found each other, gravitating towards Luffy like planets gravitate towards a Sun, like that in a solar system.

Because Sanji was grinning, a smile so wide that it would rival that of his idiotic captain, and his heart had never felt so _full._


	2. Chapter 2

GUYS! IMMA UPDATE N COMPLETE DIS STORY! HELL YEA!

Wow... Its fuckin beyond midnight in my country and _now_ I'm sittin down to write. I was actually plannin to do this earlier buuut...

Ahh... I'm really skipping a lot of 'g's right?

You just checked, didn't you? If not, then damn.

Well... Lets start!

* * *

Life was good.

Luffy didn't have many friends but he had two big brothers who'd give their life for him and an insane old hag who did _not_ know how to express emotions. And Dogra and others too.

A lot of people made fun of his eating habits but he didn't really care about what strangers thought about him.

He wasn't good at studying and didn't do his homework so he was given detention on a daily basis. But that was fun because he usually ended up with Shanks, his teacher, who told him stories about pirates. And pirates were cool.

Life was good.

But it wasn't exactly _fun_. He sorely missed those times when he was younger and he used to run around with his brothers, causing havoc and leaving devastation in their wake. It was surprising that he was still able to walk around unrecognized.

And then...there was this... _thing_. There was this nagging feeling in his chest from...let's see... since he turned seventeen. As if he was missing something important. As if he should be doing more than just wasting his time after school.

And it wasn't like he could tell anyone about it. He himself couldn't understand it so explaining it to someone else was out of the question.

And that brings us to the present where Luffy was on his way back from school, walking with a stomach emptier than what one can expect from a teenager who has snacked on a fairly large amount of food not an hour ago.

Lost in his food fantasies, he almost walked past a certain someone. Almost. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a man, with bright mint green hair standing with his back to him. Luffy counldn't help but stare and when the man turned around with his mouth slightly open as if saying something, he saw sharp poison green eyes that only made him look more dangerous. Something akin to grief flashed in his eyes and Luffy wonders how he had been able to read that brief change in demeanor, considering the distance between them.

(Little does he realize that that is because in one lifetime, they read each other effortlessly even with the world's greatest sea between them.)

As for the man, he had been on his way back from an errand he hadn't been able to complete (A.k.a. he was lost. No surprise there). He had turned around when he felt eyes on him, a sharp comment dying on the tip of his tongue when his eyes landed on the achingly familiar kid who was undoubtedly younger than him. A brief memory surfaced in his mind and he allowed himself just a second of grief before schooling his expression back to normal. He was pretty sure the kid noticed it though.

When the stranger started to walk towards him, Luffy promptly ignored the fact that his brain was screaming at him to run because a dangerous looking punk was currently approaching him with an unreadable expression. Right now, his instincts were telling him that this was precious, this man was precious and he was never one to ignore his gut. And if he was wrong, well, let's just say that two furious brothers will rip the man apart limb by limb.

So he waited for the man to speak. The one thing that went unnoticed by him was that that nagging feeling in his chest had long since disappeared. The man smiled, something that Luffy would later realise is an extremely rare occurrence.

"Hey. The name's Zoro."

And that empty space was filled with something that you are not supposed to feel for a stranger.

Love.

"Un! And my name's Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meetcha!"

But something told him that they weren't really strangers.

And as much as any person would be inclined to deny, Luffy thought - no - _knew_ that he really knew this person.

* * *

Zolu shippers feel free to consider that love romantic but I fully intend to keep it platonic. (Don't get me wrong, I am a fujoshi as well but as much as I ship Zolu and Sanlu and Acelu and Lawlu and basically every-good-male-character-in-one-piece-Lu I just don't think it is practical.)

Yea.

Don't kill me.

Yea.

Ah, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys that unlike the previous parts of this story, from this chaper onwards I will be writing how everyone met, mostly from Luffy's POV.

 _The feeeeeeeeeelllllsss_

If I say that I feel proud of myself for writing this, would that be considered bragging?

Revieeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwww~

(づ￣ ³￣)づ


	3. Chapter 3

Hi guys!

Imma tellin ya guys I'm in love with this AU.

 **IMPORTANT!**

 **IF ANY OF YOU WANT A SPECIFIC GENRE OR TYPE OF SCENE TO BE INCLUDED FURTHER IN THE SERIES, LEAVE IT IN THE REVIEWS.**

Thats it!

Enjoy!

≧ω≦

* * *

This girl has been shamelessly staring at him for forever now.

He's lost - or maybe Zoro was - because he is pretty sure that they were supposed to meet up _two hours_ ago and once more he looks up, confirming that this was the same shop they were supposed to meet outside. Its the shop across the street, with pretty frilly dresses and elegant gowns that look like royalty wears them and at the same time a drag to wear (Luffy swears he does not know how girls move around in those things without tripping. He was 200% sure that he definitely would. Repeatedly.).

The girl had arrived about an hour ago and had slammed a mountain load of clothes onto the counter, startling the living daylights out of the poor clerk that had the misfortune of being present there at the moment. She is saying something to him and he is waving his hands in a gesture that is both flustered and placating.

 _She must be bargaining_ , Luffy thinks, _typical_. And then he stops short, because how did _he_ know that? There is a familiar flutter in his chest and he does not realize the similarity of the string of events.

She turns her head a bit to flick her hair over one shoulder and their eyes lock for a moment. And she is left staring because the memories hit her like a bucket of ice cold water and she is left staggering, gasping for air against the onslaught of pain because she remembers, she finally remembers, _this is what she had been missing all these years-_

Luffy just cocks his head to one side and continues looking back at her. Something tells him that he shouldn't look away. On the other hand, the store clerk is now frantically asking her if she is okay, if she needs to be taken to a doctor. She absentmindedly shakes her head and stares at the boy with furrowed brows. The Luffy she knows would have tackled her (etiquette, gender and strength difference notwithstanding) and she is about to call out to him-

 _Unless_...

And Zoro chooses that moment to wander there and he is about to say something to get Luffy's attention when he sees what has it. He opens his mouth but before he can even get a syllable out, her body slams into him because she _saw_ the recognition in his eyes and he chokes because out of everything on his what-to-expect list, this was not there on it.

And just as abruptly she gets off him, sniffling. Luffy is looking at her in a funny way, because as amusing it is to watch Zoro who is still frozen from the shock, this girl looks unnaturally familiar. He expects her to smell like tangerines, and is surprised when that turns out to be false. The girl is still observing him.

"I'm Luffy!" he offers with a bright grin.

 _I know_ , she bites back, and instead replies with a soft smile.

"Hey there, Sencho. My name's Nami."

And she doesn't cry when he smiles back, because she lost that right in her previous lifetime when they left him all alone.

And Zoro is back to normal by then so when Luffy steps by him and he shoots Nami a look, Nami knows that he remembers as well.

She doesn't know if the others remember or not.

Doesn't know if Luffy will ever remember.

Doesn't know if Luffy remembering will be a good thing or not.

But she can't falter, because the navigator is always the one who shows the way to the captain. So she spares the clerk -who is still trying to comprehend the situation- a smile and walks in front of the two. They don't protest as she does.

And inwardly, Nami swears that she will protect that smile.

* * *

Thats it for this chappie!

Suggestions and reviews welcome!


	4. Chapter 4

GUYS! ONE DAY!

ONE DAY SINCE I UPLOADED CHAPTER 3 AND I HAD LOADS OF REVIEWS N FAVS N FOLLOWS!

I WAS LIKE DYING BECAUSE I WAS KINDA SMUG AND FLATTERED AT THE SAME TIME LIKE OMG _WHAT THE HECK-_

*gets strangled by Inner Me*

Inner Me: SHUDDAP!

* * *

Ussop chews onto the rubber part of his pencil as he stares blankly at the sheet of paper in front of him. Put him in a stadium, under the pressure of the roaring spectators, and he could still shoot at a target yards away. But give him a test on math and he couldn't answer a damn thing.

After his father had ventured off on the dangerous seas to achieve his dreams (Ussop doesn't really remember what his dream was, he was really young when it happened), frankly enough, his mother had to struggle. Quite a lot. So it had been his mother's desire that Ussop should become a well-educated man who could pull himself out of any situation. His coach (more like his idol, and Ussop-sama doesn't need coaches), Dorry, and his bestfriend Broggy would often tell him that he was more than capable enough a sharpshooter and he didn't really need to carry out his mother's wishes anymore now that she was...well, dead. They never mean to offend and Ussop never took it that way. But Ussop knows that his mother has seen more of this world (he knows a lot about another world, a world where he stands, no _stood,_ in the face of death and fought alongside monstrously strong guys and had seen all sorts of evil) and so he goes along with her decision, even if it sometimes grates on his nerves.

But that is not what is grating on his nerves right now.

You see, after a whole lifetime on a unpredictable sea, fighting off villains and keeping up with his rubbery captain, one might tend to think that Ussop lost his cowardice.

That, my dear friends, is certainly not the case.

Because one look at Luffy and a moment of remembering was enough to send Ussop scrambling in the _opposite_ direction, running as fast as his legs could carry him.

Because now he was afraid of _Luffy_ , and of what he would say when he met him.

He remembers Water 7, and he remembers everything, _everything_ that he had said to his beloved captain.

He knows that if only he meets Luffy, the other boy will laugh it off because it is silly and that was in another lifetime and Luffy would never hold anything against him, anything against any of them. And he _knows_ that Luffy will accept him with open arms, he just needs to go face him but-

But that's the thing.

Ussop doesn't think he will ever be able to face him.

Because no matter what, he can't forget what happened when he died-

Ussop shakes his head as if he was physically trying to get rid of those thoughts because he can't bear to remember that.

He lets go of his pencil because he doesn't think he will be able to think straight for a while, let alone solve math problems and he puts his head in his hands.

He doesn't know what to do. As much as a part of him is terrified, another part of him longs for it, longs for sunny smiles and warm hugs and a place to call home with one man leading them all.

Ussop doesn't realize when he fell asleep against his desk but his teacher won't be happy about the water droplets that will have soiled his test by the time he wakes up.

* * *

Yayyyy cliffhanger.

Go enjoy life till next time.

But leave a review, k?


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys new chapter!

 **IMPORTANT!**

I have recently started drawing fanart and you guys might wanna check it out:

Just search Phoenixrin on deviantart because aint lettin me put the link here

Currently there are no pieces related to my fanfics but I am working on one for Nightmare and then I'll make some for this series as well.

And here is my tumblr if u ever wanna send fanfic/art prompts:

blog/phoenixrin-iamtherealone

Or just look for Phoenixrin-iamtherealone on tumblr.

* * *

Ussop doesn't _understand_.

He comes across the trio with unnerving frequency. And even as he ducks for cover or a place to hide, he catches Nami reaching out to ruffle Luffy's hair and Zoro, who will grumble about it, but will let Luffy tackle him nevertheless (Ussop can swear that Zoro secretly enjoys Luffy tackling him).

And so he runs and runs because he can't understand- after everything that happened he very much expected Luffy to flinch at the very sight of them. So the smiles and grins that are totally unaccounted for are unnerving. So he avoids Luffy for four days straight. On the fifth, Zoro traps him in an alleyway.

"Don't think we haven't noticed you sneak around us."

He says it without any venom, its just a statement, a mild observation.

And Ussop has never felt more ashamed of himself.

A beat later, he realizes that he can get out of this situation by pretending to not know Zoro, by pretending that he should be, by all rights, screaming his vocal cords out and backing away from this man who looks like a spawn of Satan.

Before he can even begin to open his mouth, Zoro fixes him with a leveled stare. "Don't even try."

There is still no malice behind the words but there is an underlying warning in his tone and Ussop is suddenly reminded exactly _why_ people used to fear the first mate of the Strawhat Pirates. And even if Zoro isn't half as strong in this lifetime, his threats still are.

Sweat starts building up in Ussop's palms and he opens his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but he clams his mouth shut instantly.

So he just looks squarely at Zoro, daring him to say anything and surprisingly enough, Zoro's expression almost softens.

And Ussop _knows_ that Zoro is just helping and that was actually the best thing that could have happened because Zoro is, _was_ the bridge between them and the captain, the first mate, the one they could depend on in the captain's absence, the only one with the right to share the captain's burden.

So Ussop just takes a deep breath and lets it all just fall out of his mouth - his fears, the feeling of betrayal, the guilt and the fact that he knows he is being stupid and the sheer _longing_. And once he is done, Zoro just smiles (or smirks like a shark because that is the Zoro-smile) and grabs him by the cuff of his neck and drags him out of the alleyway. And halfway through Ussop has to steer him in the right direction and Zoro playfully sneers at him and Ussop is not intimidated in the least(anyone else would have pissed their pants).

They both are laughing by the time they arrive at where Luffy and Nami are waiting patiently. And when he sees Luffy smile wide at him in a way that he hasn't seen in a lifetime, he is moving before he can stop himself and Luffy fits in his arms just like a little brother, exactly the way he remembers. And he squeezes him hard enough for Luffy to start giggling and he can't quite fight back the grin that makes its way up his way.

And after a very, very long time, Ussop is finally _home_.

* * *

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

Okay guys, first things first (imma say all the words inside mah head) I'm real, real sorry for taking so long to update. To make up, this chapter is fairly long and has ANGST! AND H/C! HOLY CRAP! IKR!

Also my fanart for Nightmare is almost complete so do check out my tumblr and deviantart links which I haven't posted. Welp. Just search for Phoenixrin (an extra 'iamtherealone' for tumblr), you can't miss it.

Enjoy!

* * *

They didn't discuss it (Luffy's apparent memory loss) much. They love him for what he is - Monkey D. Luffy, a ball of freaking concentrated sunshine, who will annoy the heck out of you and you will still, inevitably, love him. And so far, there was only one person besides them who remembered an era of pirates.

 _Luffy burst in through the door, Ussop hot on his heels, and without missing a beat slammed into the swordsman who was napping on the couch. Even as a crack is heard while Zoro chokes, everyone strains to hear something that Luffy gurgles out in Zoro's shirt. Nami wordlessly looks at Ussop for a translation and archs an eyebrow when Ussop struggles between catching his breath and positively beaming. Once he's settled, he half exclaims, "Ace is coming back!"_

 _And there is a sudden tension in the air that dissipates as fast as it came. Luffy still notices, he always notices everything when it comes to his precious nakama and looks questioningly at Zoro, who just shakes his head. And that is that._

 _Ace had apparently been travelling around the world becaise of his job and had been anxious (note the understatement) when Luffy had first dropped the bomb that he was now living with his new friends. And of course, he didn't spare any details like 'when', 'who' and 'how' which had Ace reeling because Luffy was extremely trusting and had boarded a flight back home before his mind could provide him with some oh-so-helpful worst case scenarios._

 _Surprisingly enough, Ace's first reaction on seeing them was_ relief. _And they concluded that Ace remembered._

 _The rest of the day had gone by in the blink of an eye, Ace mixing in with the ragtag group just as fast as he had the last time. And he had booked another plane ticket almost instantly now that he was assured that Luffy was in safe hands._

 _Luffy had pouted and begged (with his best puppy-dog eyes) for Ace to stay and the whole group marvelled when Ace only_ almost _relented. Eventually, he had shook Luffy off himself and sprinted out of the door before Luffy could even say anything._

The point being that the Strawhats came to the unanimous decision that Luffy's memory loss would be dealt with if and when the need may be. Until then they dismissed the topic. Which was the wrong thing to do because Sanji _was not prepared for this._ Was not prepared prepared for Luffy - who had been afternoon napping to mimick Zoro - to cry out in his sleep. Was not prepared to be the only goddamn person in the house when it happened.

He almost breaks the dish that he had been drying in his hurry to get to the living room. And the sight he sees makes his heart clench because Luffy has tears running down his cheeks in his sleep and he is choking as if he has forgotten how to sob in his pain. And Sanji is pretty sure that he can count the number of times he has seen Luffy cry on one hand.

Gingerly, he crouches down to where Luffy is half sprawled on the couch with his blanket kicked off himself and proceeds to extend his hand to wake him up. And Luffy _flinches away_ from his touch like he is burnt and Sanji holds back a wince of his own. And he'd rather be cooking up a feast for Luffy than see him hurt like this but Sanji has never done this sort of a thing for anyone and he is at a complete loss. Although he could never be so cruel as to leave Luffy as he is right now. God knows he has failed Luffy enough for two lifetimes.

So even as his heart hurts, he grabs Luffy by the shoulders, ignoring the way he jerks and tries to squirm out of his hold, because for once, Sanji has to be strong for the one who was, _is_ always strong for them. Gripping tight enough that he is almost sure it will bruise, he shakes Luffy hard and simultaneously shouts out his name.

Effectively, Luffy's eyes snap open, and _oh god_ , his eyes are puffy and bloodshot and he looks downright miserable. Luffy spares him a glance and then rockets himself towards Sanji, burying his face into his chest. Sanji takes a moment to process it and then wraps his arms around the hicupping kid who is still shaking like a leaf. He rubs an arm up and down the small back in any attempt to comfort him.

When he realized that the kid wasn't going to talk, he prompted.

"Bad dream?"

Luffy stills in his arms and then makes a wet noise of confirmation that makes Sanji want to throw a tantrum. His next statement is so soft that Sanji almost misses it.

"You guys went flyin'."

When Sanji remains silent, he continues.

"Bear-guy sent you guys flyin." he clarifies.

And realization hits Sanji like a brick and he tightens his arms around Luffy. For the second time that day, he feels utterly useless. However, Luffy beats him to speaking.

"Never 'gain. I trained...two years...not like Ace." and from there it breaks down into senseless mumbles.

But Sanji doesn't hear the mumbles. Here, in the living room of their house, sprawled on the floor, time has frozen for him. Suddenly, he realizes exactly why Luffy remembering the past can be a bad thing. Gently, as if the boy is made of glass, Sanji pulls back an gets a good look at him.

Luffy's eyes are glazed and it looks like he is drifting on the verge of conciousness, he can't tell anymore than that.

The stifling silence that had filled the room is broken by Sanji's ringtone and he hurries to end the call because no way in hell can he hold up a conversation right now. But then he blinks at the screen, then blinks again because he never thought he'd get a call from this number.

Grudgingly he answers the call and-

 _What_ _happened?_

-is the breathless, panicked statement through the speaker piece and Sanji sighs. Leave it to Marimo to figure out that something was wrong with Luffy.

He tells Zoro to just come straight home and pass the message on to the others and surprisingly, the moss head complies without another word.

Hours later, the incomplete group sits around the dining table that is too big for four people and Sanji talks about what had happened with Luffy - who was currently comfortably tucked in and snoring. And after he is done talking, the same thought crosses all of their minds:

 _What now?_

* * *

Hahahaa I left it there for this chapter.

Review, ok?


	7. Chapter 7

Sooooo…. For a long time I had lost interest in this fic cuz I was writing a irondad spiderson fic. Its crossposted on ao3 as well, btw. But, as I have pledged in my description, I will NEVER abandon a fic. So, sorry for the wait and enjoy!

(also watch out for butchered medical facts)

* * *

"Ow ow- that hurts!" the boy didn't shriek, but he came dangerously close. He supposed it was because he was almost an adult and adults most certainly did not shriek. Chopper had to struggle to keep the amusement from his voice.

It was a close call.

"It's not as bad as it looks." Chopper did laugh when the boy before him just looked at him. "No, really, the only reason it has swelled up so much is because you probably put a lot of strain on your ligament. You said you played basketball?" He continued when the boy nodded. "I actually get a lot of people with similar problems. This must've happened when you attempted to go along with a technique you hadn't tried before."

The boy looked at him with wide eyes that clearly implied that Chopper's assumption was accurate. Before he could continue, another voice spoke up.

"So he'll be fine? There's- It's nothing serious?" it was one of whom Chopper supposed were the boy's teammates. They were a group of about seven and they had all but burst into Chopper's little clinic, completely destroying the quiet of the afternoon. All but forcing their injured friend on the chair and huddling in the corner, giving Chopper all the space he would need to work but ready to help in any way. It made Chopper smile but at the same time his heart twinged with longing – and, dare he say, nostalgia. It made him wonder.

Later after he had diced the technicalities of the resting and rehab procedure to the barest essentials because none of the boys looked like they understood a word he was saying, the boys left, gratitude and relief obvious on their faces. Letting out a sigh for reasons unknown to himself, Chopper leaned back in his chair and let his thoughts wonder.

He remembers how surprised the boys looked when they set foot inside the clinic. Most of his patients are, Chopper was unnaturally small sized for his age and qualifications. The clinic itself belonged to Hiluluk, Chopper's late teacher who was a father to him in everything but blood.

 _Well everyone isn't as unusual as those guys, who didn't doubt me even for a second when I said that I was a doctor._

Chopper straightened up in his chair, because where had that thought come from? _Everyone_ he has ever met has been surprised on knowing his profession, even Doctorine. So, who were these people he just thought of?

Images swim past in his head, extremely blurry, and he could hear muffled voices. While he couldn't make out what the unknown (no, they're familiar, family, _more_ ) voices were saying, most of them felt like they have no idea what he is talking about. And okay, that is pretty normal for all of his patients, but he has never heard something like this (yes, yes you have). Because there is an underlying trust in the fleeting laughter that is so staggering in its intensity that it leaves Chopper breathless and makes his chest constrict with longing.

But then another person bursts in through his door and he's getting a lot of panicky patients today so he sets his thoughts aside and goes into professional mode.

* * *

There's a post-it note on the door of his clinic. It's an invitation to a party, and just states the address. Chopper supposes it must be a new kind of prank and he peels off the post-it to toss in the bin. But as he's about to do that, he sees something on the back of it. As if the 'prankster' knew that Chopper was going to throw it, there's a message that says: PS- this is not a joke. Underneath it is a doodle of a rather strange grinning skull.

A strange grinning skull with a straw hat on and cross bones behind it.

" _I raise this skull against all diseases!"_

" _Do you understand the meaning of this flag? The skull mark is a symbol of conviction!"_

Suddenly Chopper's heart wells up, with grief, with happiness, maybe both, and something _more_. Something so wonderfully _overwhelming_ that Chopper has to steady himself against the door lest his legs give out.

* * *

He really should know better than to but his heart leads him to a house in the Grand Line district, the legal grey area where you can trust neither the citizens nor the police. Local residence of countless shady people that it was, a person like Chopper should really not be here, _especially_ at this hour. Regardless, Chopper approaches the house.

He hears some….. _questionable_ sounds from the inside. Instead of making him back away, it makes him smile.

He knocks on the door and waits.

And waits.

No one opens it. The noises keep growing louder.

Chopper tests the door knob and it twists open, leading him smack into the face of pandemonium.

The living room is bathed in warm lights and somewhat excessively decorated in a professional manner. Someone with really good designing and artistic skills must have done it. Next he notices the occupants of the room.

A very pretty girl with beautiful orange locks sat in one corner of the room, looking very much done with the three other occupants of the room in specific and the world in general and murderous at the same time. Her glare rolled off the others harmlessly, especially the boy with cropped green hair who was napping a few ways away from her despite the ruckus. Then there was a blond guy with his hair sweeping over to cover one eye who was doing most of the yelling and there was a muffled voice coming from under his feet where he had trapped a teenage boy and was holding back another one with an absurdly long nose from a common target: the massive cake on the center table which would put any pâtissier to shame.

The blond one finally pushed back the long nosed one who screamed about treacherous teammates as he fell, but not before he pulled his offender with him. With both of them on the floor, the other teenager uses his newfound freedom to dash over to the table. In the one fluid movement, half the cake is gone, most likely into the mouth of this boy with swollen cheeks like a chipmunk. That's the first time Chopper gets a good look at his face and again-

 _running away from a snow kingdom as a gigantic sakura tree blooms behind them_

he feels-

 _before a bear man, feeling utterly defeated_

so-

 _meeting after so long, vengeful and undefeatable, they're back_

damned-

 _being so close, their dreams within the reach of their palms, and being crushed_

overwhelmed.

One Piece. Grand line. Marines. Pirates. _Nakama._ Zoroussopsanjinamirobinfrankybrook. Nakama. Captain. _Luffy._ LuffyluffyluffyluffyluffyfuturePirateKing-

This time Chopper isn't able to steady himself when his legs give out.

* * *

1000 word chappie!

Yes, Nami planned the party and Ussop made? the decorations.

I'm actually pretty proud of how this one turned out. Do tell me your thoughts by reviewing!


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